August 29, 2008

Touted as "The candy that provides you with a sensational new way to see," Eye Candy uses "cutting edge Sensory Substitution Technology to transmit vivid emotive images into your mind's eye."

They come in six flavors ranging from I Can Assert to I Can Focus - each one meant to get you into a certain state of mind - by projecting specially evocative imagary into your field of vision.

They go into more detail about how this works on their site, but suffice is to say that the "lollie" part of the device transmits messages through your tongue, to your brain. And those messages are what put you in a certain state of mind, supposedly.

August 26, 2008

August 26, 2008

We came across Seth Ellis' Chocolates at Foodzie (a great place to find artisan food by the way). Seth Ellis is a small artisan chocolate manufacturer in Boulder, Colorado who creates gorgeous, interesting chocolates from organic and natural ingredients.

The pictures below are the Ginger Truffle and the Nutmeg Caramel Snobinette, respectively. Beautiful chocolates, and fun flavor combinations.

Seth Ellis candies range from $12.50 to $25, and can be found at Foodzie

August 25, 2008

It is easy to slap an Obama wrapper on a regular old piece of chocolate or candy. What's not as easy is to make a really original, unique, collectible piece of candy to celebrate the new face of the Democrat Party's nominee. But that's exactly what Kai's Candy has done with its Obama lollipops and hard candies. They are made with the traditional Japanese art of kumi ame (rolled candy), which gives each piece its own nuances and uniqueness. The flavors are similar to American hard candies, but with a more mild flavor. The small candies are mint flavored.
Comedy Central's Indecision 2008 Blog said it best...
"Now you can satisfy your [Obama] lust by wrapping your hands around the big B.O. and licking his sweet face... his lollipop face, that is."

August 22, 2008

Yep, its true. There was, in fact, a Jar Jar Binks lollipop released back when Star Wars Episode 1 came out. Pretty weird, and a little creepy. Who the heck wants to French kiss Jar Jar??? No wonder it didn't sell very well.

Check out some of the other cool Star Wars licensed stuff in this WIRED video:

Monterey County public health officials are warning consumers not to eat a licorice candy distributed in Costco stores after it was found to have elevated levels of lead.

Lucky Country Aussie Style Soft Gourmet Black Licorice candy was discovered to be contaminated by the California Department of Health and has been recalled by its manufacturer, a North Carolina company called Lucky Country.

According to Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Hugh Stallworth, lead is toxic to humans, particularly young children, and can result in disabilities and disorders that can last a lifetime.

The California Department of Public Health discovered that the product contained as much as 0.15 parts per million of lead. California considers candies with lead levels in excess of 0.10 parts per million to be contaminated.

Consumers who find the product for sale in stores are encouraged to call the department's complaint hotline at (800) 495-3232.

For more information about lead poisoning, parents and caretakers can contact Monterey County's childhood lead poisoning prevention program at (831) 755-4704.

OK...if you really need to wake up this badly...you might have problems.

One Buzz Bite Chew has as much caffeine as 1.25 Red Bulls or 3 cans of coke. Wowzers. The individually wrapped chews contain caffeine, ginseng, taurine, and five B vitamins. 100 milligrams of caffeine to be exactly.

August 20, 2008

'Hi-Technical Taste' is what you should expect from this caffeinated candy. Black Black is made by Lotte and is all the rage in Japan. Besides the caffeine, it also has Vitamin B-3, ginseng and oolong tea in it.

August 19, 2008

If you're a video game junkie, you know how annoying the need for sleep can be. So you need Headshot. Its a toffee flavored Guarana Infused Candy bar dedicated to the gamer lifestyle. These puppies have 100mg of Guarana and have no bitter caffeine taste.

August 18, 2008

Falling asleep on the job and need a quick pick-me-up? Then you might want to check out this caffeinated candy variety pack, which claims to pack "enough caffeine to power a Imperial Walker" (for all you Star Wars fans).

August 16, 2008

A man caught carrying a large Gobstopperin a sock has been fined £400 after it was found to be an offensive weapon.

The guy said he was carrying it for protection after being attacked. Cops said the Gobstopperwas "a substantial piece of confectionary" and that "even though it was not in the same category as a knife or axe, it was capable of inflicting a nasty injury."

August 13, 2008

Whether this is truly "candy" or not I suppose is up to how the person consuming it. If you want to use it like normal sugar to sweeten tea, for example, then maybe its not "candy." But if the idea of vegan dark sugar (sucre candi) from France makes you want to eat it all by itself (like me) then we say it is "candy."

August 11, 2008

Pave Glace is soft solid dark chocolate that uses cocoa butter instead of oils. Its all natural (Ingredients: cocoa powder, sugar, cocoa mass, vanilla, cocoa butter, soy lecithin), and does not use any dairy. With 75% cocoa content, this is a great vegan option.

Compartes makes the statement that they make "Chocolates for a Cause." They have several gourmet, artisan chocolate collections, but the one that caught our eye was the African Collection - with flavors including Cardamom, Coconut and Organic Red Rooibus Tea. To add to the aesthetic, the African continent is painted on each piece.

Plus, each box of chocolates includes Relief Beads, which are one-of-a-kind bracelets, handmade from sand in Africa. The proceeds from the sales go to benefit Relief International, funding extensive programs in Africa and Darfur, including refugee camps, medical clinics, education and women's centers.

August 8, 2008

We were on this story well before the New York Times, who wrote yesterday about the new M&Ms Premiums, the fact that they have no shell, and the new ad campaign that goes with it. Here are some of the points from the article that caught my eye:

Spoken like a true ad executive...looking for the ooh instead of the happy customer.

""We found that premium chocolate lovers want the smooth, creamy taste to be the first thing they taste in a chocolate product, so the smooth shell of M&M's Premiums enables them to taste the chocolate first," said Michele Kessler, vice president for marketing at Mars Snackfood."

Hellooo...premium chocolate lovers aren't buying M&Ms for that purpose. We/They buy M&Ms for the...wait for it...wait for it...taste and texture of an M&M!

"The Mars research and development team came up with a new manufacturing technique to make the shell, she said. And some ingredients are different, so the candy can accept the shimmering finishes and exotic flavors."

"Ms. Kessler said she was not concerned about moving too far from the main M&M's product."

"They're still lentils, they still have the 'M' on them," she said. "They're certainly colorful in a different way, but in a more premium way that reinforces what the product brings."

I went into this with very low hopes. In fact, I expected to hate these, likely not finishing them like the last Baskin Robbins candy we tried.

But we were pleasantly surprised. The rounded rectangle piece of hard candy is split into a black side and a white side, and they actually work relatively well. The cream flavor takes the lead on this candy, giving way, as it melts, to the odd chocolate/oreo flavor.

Our advice: don't chew these up, let it melt. I have trouble doing this too, I'm a biter, but trust me, the experience is much nicer when the two flavors are melding together. Chewing them up actually changes the whole dynamic for me, it stopped being a cookies and cream taste and turned more chocolate and sugary. And it left a sharp aftertaste that got me in the back of the throat.

The verdict? Better than the soft candies, but still not as awesome as Baskin Robbin's ice cream, so they should think these candies through more.

This is classic Turrón "Duro" (i.e. hard or crunchy) - because it is made up primarily (65%) of tasty Marcona almonds. Apparently, that's the most almonds they can put in without it falling apart. Then, they are doused in orange blossom honey to bind the bar together. They are bound together with 100% orange blossom honey.

The package comes with two foil-wrapped packages of bars, which are pre-cut so you can separate more manageable pieces. When I first opened these, it looked like there was a thin layer of Styrofoam on the bar - I figured shipment in the heat had melded it on to the candy, and I was not happy. However, under further investigation, it was not packing material. Rather, it is an ultra-thin wafer on top - so it is an added layer of texture for the whole eating experience.

This Turrón lives up to its "Duro" classification - it is very crunchy - you really have to give it a good bite. That initial crunchiness does give way to a little more chewiness, once you get into the dense almond clusters and honey. And while an odd combo, the wafer on top seems to make sense.

The flavor, if you like Marcona almonds and honey (if you don't, maybe this blog isn't for you...), is out of this world. Marcona almonds are NOT like those you find in the grocery store or in your Hershey's bar, these have a special nutty, slightly more oily, and certainly more intense flavor. With so many packed into this bar, coupled with the honey, you have an explosion of sweet, nutty, crunchy goodness.

August 6, 2008

We picked these up at World Market, a great place for all sorts of candy. What caught our eye was the chubby little baby drawing on the box - odd yet intriguing.

The candies themselves are only about 1/2" x 1/4" rectangles, each individually wrapped. They're an opaque, light orange color. The candies themselves are quite normal, almost pedestrian. There's nothing at all wrong with them, they are chewy (sticky actually), and have a great, sugary orange flavor. But that's it. Perhaps I set my hopes too high for a more adventurous candy experience.

Each candy has an edible inner wrapper that melts in your mouth. If you're not paying attention, you'll miss this little nugget of information, its located on one of the inner flaps of the box. In fact, I missed it and spent several tedious minutes trying to get all the wrapper off.

They also come with a temporary tattoo for the youngsters. Ours was the Chinese character for "Friends."

August 5, 2008

I checked out the Mocha flavor of the new M&Ms Premiums line recently. I had extremely high hopes, and looked forward to checking out the other flavors.

When you first see any of the Premiums, the first thing you notice is the beautiful colors on the shell - a mix of relevant colors for the flavor, making them both visually appealing, but also a natural extension of the look of a regular M&M.

Then you eat one (or three as it were). The flavor is pretty good actually, its a nice quality of chocolate (for a mass brand), and in this case the mocha flavor was present but not overwhelming.

The problem, and its a big one in my opinion, is not in the quality, beauty or flavor. The problem is that they took away the hard shell. There is no crunch, there is no texture contract between the shell and the inside, nothing. What the heck happened to "melts in your mouth, not in your hands"??? That shell is one, if not the, differentiator for M&Ms - the thing that has made them so unique, popular, classic. Why in the world would they change this.

August 4, 2008

When you Google "durian candy" the first three links (more actually) will be to negative posts. You'll hear tearms like "stinkbob," and see it on pages of "Bad Candy" or on Top 10 Grossest Candy lists.

What is durian? It's a spiky fruit that is known for it's sweet yet pungent odor.

I'll admit its not a normal candy, but I've had a lot worse. In fact, I like this stuff. It has a nice tropical flavor, I get a lot of coconut. Its not overly sweet, and the pieces I've had have the consistency of a Starburst.

Are there any people out there who like durian candy? Or is it truly a hated candy? Let me know.

Box Vox noted five products that were fictional at one point but turned into real life products. Two of them are candy, so we thought we'd show them to you. The first is the classic Willy Wonka chocolate bar. An entire Wonka brand has been developed in real life based on the movies and books.

Harry Potter also featured an unusual candy product: "Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans." Although introduced in the first book, it was apparently mentioned much more frequently in the movie.

From boxvox; Images from 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory movie and 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory